Cursed Castle

The Cursed Castle is a location in the Kishin Douji Zenki series. It is depicted as a huge tower sporting a traditional Japanese design and has huge horns or horn-like structures mounted onto it.

It has a basement and four additional floors and serves as the headquaters of the Jushi (aka "Curse Samurai") from the manga's Jushi ark, which lasts for the first three volumes.

Amon lives in the basement, while Majura lives on the third floor and Shijura lives on the fourth floor. Then there are also Anjura and Kajura, who are a special case.

While the manga has Kajura living on the first floor and Anjura on the second floor, Battle Raiden switches them around, but leaves their rooms and surroundings intact.

The Cursed Castle is surrounded by the so called "Force Field of the Deadly Curse", which is powered by the five Jushi's life force. They placed a curse on Shikigami-chou, so neither it's inhabitants, whose souls have been taken by Shijura's soul-reaping scythe, nor Zenki and Chiaki, can leave the place.

This way Zenki and Chiaki are forced to take down every single Jushi to save the village and themselves, while the Jushi try to kill Zenki and Chiaki in an attempt to prove themselves as superior to Ozunu Enno and his Demon Gods.

The Cursed Castle is located in the forest of Shikigami-chou and is only present over the course of the Jushi ark. While it's absence later on is never stated in the manga, Battle Raiden shows Zenki and Chiaki escaping the collapsing castle in the outro after Shijura's defeat.

This is followed by Zenki explaining that Shijura's death might be related to the castle's sudden collapse, as he states that it was "supported by Shijura's power".

The manga simply has Zenki and Chiaki leaving the collapsing castle and reappearing outside, close to the bottom of the Enno Shrine's outdoors area's staircase. This happens over the cause of a few small panels without much explanation of what's actually going on.

Though it is stated in the manga, that both the Force Field of the Deadly Curse and its contents (aka the Cursed Castle and the surrounding areas which serve as the stages in Battle Raiden) are illusions created by the Jushi. Thus the Jushi's life force is what makes the illusions real and their defeat what makes the illusion vanish. This also explains why the floors collapse one after another as Zenki and Chiaki defeat one sorcerer after another, as the lack of life force makes the corresponding sorcerer's floor simply chease to exist.

Amon's basement
Amon's basement is the the location where Zenki and Chiaki fight Amon in the manga and the first stage in Kishin Douji Zenki - Battle Raiden.

While the manga mainly features it as an outdoors area of the Cursed Castle itself and a plateau rigged with rock formations, the game includes Shikigami-chou's vast forest, a cave, a snowy mountain and a special room for Amon himself.

The manga depicts Amon, Zenki and Chiaki chatting for awhile, till Zenki faces Amon in battle and defeats him.

In the game, Zenki has to traverse the aforementioned three areas, before he can finally face Amon in his room, which poses a greater challenge to our hero.

Amon's room exerts a gloomy aura with all that mist around the place. This will be a reoccuring theme, as the other Jushi sport similar rooms, fitting their own elements and character themes.

Kajura's floor
Kajura's floor is the the location where Zenki and Chiaki fight Kajura in the manga and the third stage in Kishin Douji Zenki - Battle Raiden.

Actually, Kajura is the only Jushi not to have a proper room or area of sorts in the manga. He is met shortly after Zenki and Chiaki enter the Cursed Castle and is fought on the stairs. Most of the battle between Zenki and Kajura seemingly has both of them jumping around, taking the fight into mid-air instead of the rough and rigged ground of the stairs.

The game has an entirely different situation, where Kajura's floor features a mountain trail outdoors area that leads to an active volcano. Zenki and Chiaki enter the volcano and go through an abandoned mine filled with dangerous and mostly fire themed Hyouijuu (one of the enemy types cleverly being the souls of Shikigami-chou's people turned into a huge, fiery ball of death haunting Zenki). Zenki faces an actual fire breathing dragon and advances by walking through and surfing on a lava lake. Kajura's room ingame is a small temple located at the end of this odyssey, sporting two decorative torches and a heat effect.

Just like in the manga, Kajura is just as cocky and restless ingame, laughing maniacally and places great confidence in his beloved flame armor.

Anjura's floor
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Majura's floor
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Shijura's floor
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